Again, I went in. I recapped the previous day’s incident, with frequent pauses for dramatic effect, allowing myself an opportunity to gauge the reaction of the school officials gathered before me. Blank faces stared back.

Man, this is a hard crowd!

The principal started, “Chima, didn’t we talk yesterday?”

What? Chima? Talk? Yesterday?

“Yes.”

What the hell do you mean ‘yes’? Boy, I thought you said said no one was around…

“As soon as I called his name…you see they were in the music room because that’s where they wait for their buses…the tears just started.”

“He’s very sensitive.” chimes in Ms. Lennon.

The wife nods in assent.

Crying? Cause she called him out?

The principal continued, “I asked him why he pushed Jahier…”

Geeeeeezzzzuusssss!

Long-ish story short, my son was not choked. He put his hands on the other boy first. He was ‘talked to’ at school (hence the tear-stained cheeks). When questioned, he embellished or selectively remembered the parts of the incident guaranteed to elicit the appropriate response from the parentals (from mom dukes really, she’s easily swayed).

At the end of the day, I was all up-in-arms over nothing. The school is fine. This Jahier chap is not troubled.

My advice to all you parents: take your kids at their word, but maintain a little bit ‘o distance, lest the truth be slightly different.

3 responses to “Be cool, Stephen: Part Deux”

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Being an educator and especially an adminstrator, I deal with this scenario frequently. And the classic “oh shit” look on parents faces when they realize the story their child told them was a bit embellished… well… I wish I had a dollar for every time its happened. And the weird thing is, it does start in Kindergarten. Children learn at age five, school age, to manipulate their parents and flip the story to suit them. In any case, glad everything worked out with your son and his school.

I am glad things worked out…glad u had u lightbulb moment n K..lollol some parents don’t get it till high school and we(educators) call them the “always somebody else kid”..lollol..thanks 4 sharing ur story 2 empower other parents…